Maybe it was because I saw the newer version before I saw this film, but I wasn't very impressed with it. It was an okay movie, but not as good as I had expected. I watched it first as the original release, then re-watched the extended scenes, but they didn't seem like much either.
Richard: Focus, please.
Lorelai: I am a camera.
Hm, really?
Maybe it's just not everyone's cup of tea, but as far as 1980s slasher movies go, this is way at the top of the list. It's well-filmed, has a decent story and characters, and some inventive scenes. It's a fun movie, not a masterpiece by any means, but I like it.
I personally enjoyed the "lost" footage that was included in the new DVD. Most of it was gore stuff that was cut out of the original release to please the MPAA, but it's nice to see the movie as it was originally intended. The cut version of the film has that choppy feel, it's obvious that it was trimmed down a lot.
I liked the remake quite a bit too, surprisingly.
"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
- Andy Warhol
Another thing is, I was born in 1990, so I'm more used to modern slasher films with more of the gore and stuff, I guess its just not what I expected from a film called 'My BLOODY Valentine'. But I don't have anything against the movie at all. I'll prolly watch it again from time to time. But I do prefer the newer one a bit more.
Richard: Focus, please.
Lorelai: I am a camera.
Ha, I was born in '90 too. I grew up on modern horror flicks, but as I got older I started to gain more interest in older films, particularly classic horror movies. Almost all of my favorite horror movies were made before the mid-1980s, and as early as the 1940s. It could be a taste thing, but I enjoyed both the original and the remake of MBV. As for the gore aspect, I still think (with the cut footage reinstated into it) that the original is pretty gory... not extremely gory by today's standards, no, but still fairly gruesome. And back in 1981, this amount of onscreen violence clearly irked the MPAA.
"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
- Andy Warhol
Well I'm a child of the 80s and it never got to me either. Bought it on video years ago and was just "bah" at the end. Even taking in the fact it was heavily censored, there just wasn't anything to it.
It has all the hallmarks I tend to like, small town setting, nice score, nice closing song, (which I'll be honest and tell you I don't even remember!), but I felt like I'd just seen another F13 clone or Halloween imitation.
Just Before Dawn does that too, no matter how hard I try I can barely sit through it.
And yet I love Mortuary, The Burning, The Prowler, Prom Night, most 90s horror films (the good stuff, not the direct to DVD crap!) and I've even liked some of the remakes (shock horror).
You can rest your mind at last, you've resolved the horrors past...
I am a child of the 90s as well, but I actually like the original 1981 My Bloody Valentine better than the 2009 release. I love both, but the original has more creepy atmosphere and better acting I believe. I love the additional gore effects in the uncut version. It's easily one of my favorite horror/slasher films. We all have different tastes though.
sharethis is without a doubt one the last greats of the genre.before nightmare...,scream and others of its ilk.replacing more gore with faceless actors,a decent storyline and suspence doesnt work well.
eli roth should stop trying,including acting,writing,producing,directing-breathing?
I saw the remake first and I was really impressed with the original--even without the extended footage.
"My Rowsdower has come for me!"
This is part of what I refer to as the "Underrated Slasher Trilogy", which consists of 'The Prowler', 'The Burning', and 'My Bloody Valentine'. Though while obviously not having blatant connections; they were all released the same year, each had issues with cuts from the MPAA, and over time have each developed their own following.
Though while all three of those films are amazing in their own rights, MBV stands above the rest for a couple reasons. The setting is original, and VERY atmospheric. The cast is adults as opposed to teens (or adults playing teens). The deaths (though while heavily trimmed in the R rated cut) were original for the time, and didn't contain the standard "throat slash", or "disembowelment".
The extended footage made this film be what it was supposed to be, a violent slasher with inventive kills. Though while it might be generic nowadays, this film I think holds a candle to any recent slasher, and has more heart (insert Rim shot here).
"Flossing? Where did I get Munson from?" - Ish, Kingpin
For reasons unbeknownst to myself I bought this on DVD recently (it was cheap plus free postage = some not too bad entertainment, surely it beats spending $6 for a rental of a naughties remake?).
Looking back on it, it's actually not as bad a film as I thought it was. I must've been having a bad day when I saw it. Granted, I still don't think it's as good as The Burning or The Prowler, but it's nicely filmed, reasonably well acted, it doesn't feature your typical teenagers in peril slasher plot, which is always a nice change, and when I watched it I actually felt cheated that Hollis got killed, he was a nice guy and he didn't deserve that. And that ballad is ALMOST as good as Prom Night's "Fade to Black"!!!! (Read my sig...)
You can rest your mind at last, you've resolved the horrors past...
[deleted]
"each had issues with cuts from the MPAA"
THE BURNING and THE PROWLER had no issues with the MPAA. I saw them both uncut in the theater. Not sure why MBV was so heavily cut while the other two weren't. I know the VHS releases of both THE PROWLER and THE BURNING were heavily cut here in Canada.
'The Prowler' interview with Joesph Zito, interview available at http://www.pitofhorror.com/main/zito.html
Well, there's MPAA cuts throughout the entire movie. I mean every single Savini effect that was filmed was negotiated with the MPAA and trimmed, and trimmed again, and then trimmed a third time. We were under very very tight pressure for the release of the movie.
The US theatrical release was sloppily cut by approximately 45 seconds to achieve an "R" rating.
I watched the remake and thought it was better than the original but I did not like how the remake reversed the role though and made it where TJ was the crazy one in the My Bloody Valentine 3D.
You are correct that the original is a little bit slower than the newer one and I could predict on who was going to get killed before it happened. There are some horror movies from the 80's that is a lot better than this one though.
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